Planning a wedding is one big task, especially for those who aren't the most organised people in the world. A wedding is meant to be one of the happiest days of your life, but this label just adds more pressure on you to get it perfect. To top it all of, you only get one chance to get it perfect! Here are some of our top tips on how to stay cool when planning the wedding, along with guidelines of when to book venues and order attire.
Make sure you keep a diary
We like to give a little one to our brides when they purchase from us, just to put in dates like when their dress will arrive in stock, and when next appointment for a fitting is. It can also be a good idea to invest in a big, old fashioned, paper organiser. With these, you can never go wrong. Try to find one with lots of dividers, to make sure you have plenty of room. If you can find an organiser with space for an inspiration board, that would be brilliant. It's always a great help for us bridal stores when a bride comes in with tonnes of ideas in mind. Keep track of your budget in the organiser, along with a guest list and section for important phone numbers. Having all this information in one place just helps to reduce the stress of planning a little bit - the last thing you need on the way to your big day is to lose that scrap of paper with the florist's phone number on, just as you need to tell her there will be one extra buttonhole required.Ordering Attire
Wedding dress -
.jpg)
The dress needs to be on order at least 7 months before the day to leave time for alterations, but the usual is about 12 months. Start looking a few months before you want to get your dress ordered, and make sure you don't visit too many shops to find your perfect dress. After a while, it turns into a laborious task, all the dresses just merge into one and you have no chance of working out which you like best. Start early but be prepared to stop looking when you get that special feeling about a dress. Don't feel like there is just another dress around the corner that you haven't seen at that might be the one, just go for it! If you've seen all the dresses you want to see, but are worried because none seem to be "the one", take some time out for a few weeks. Whichever dresses keep appearing in your head when you try to stop thinking about weddings should probably be tried on again! Bridesmaid dresses -
Order after the wedding dress, to match the dress style and fabric. Now, before you say "but isn't this obvious?" we have had brides come into our shop before now who have already bought their bridesmaid dresses, and now need to find a wedding dress to match. We recommend having bridesmaid dresses on order about 5 months before the wedding, as although they don't take as long to arrive as bridal dresses, it is often hard to get all the maids together for alterations. Also, have a few colours in mind; sometimes it's hard to get a perfect match on a colour and you don't want to limit your dress options because of this. We do try our upmost to find the right colour, although it can mean compromising on style, as each dress has a certain collection of colours it can be purchased in. However, there is a choice of over 60 colours on some dresses.
Suits -
These need to be ordered after have bridesmaids, but don't leave it until the last minute. Give the men a swatch of bridesmaid dress fabric to match the colour of ties to your theme, or a swatch from the bridal dress if it is a slightly unusual colour. If you are hiring the suits, have them arrive a few days before the wedding in order to check that the right sizes have been delivered. Although you would expect them to, sometimes companies may not have a size readily available so send the closest they have. These extra few days can mean you have time to change an ill-fitting suit in time for the big day.Booking
Venue -
It is often hard to find your dream venue for the date you want, so try to book it as soon as possible. It's often the case that your wedding date turns out to be the date the venue has available. Also make sure you consider the cost; the venue will often be more expensive in early summer than in late autumn, so see what your budget will allow and try not to go over.
Flowers -
We advise you to contact your florist at least 3 months before your actual wedding date to begin planning. If your wedding is larger than average, in the summer months, or at christmas, 6 months might be needed to ensure you get your prefered florist. Remember to bring colour swatches with you, as well as an idea of quantity (this will change depending on the size of your venue and how many bridesmaids you have).Photographer -
Make sure before you choose your photographer you read plenty of reviews and talk to other brides to find out who they used. It's not all about finding someone who is reliable, although of course that is important, it's also about finding a photographer with the right style for you. You may want traditional portraits taking, or something a bit quirky. Maybe it's all about the way they are printed afterwards (we hear that some photographers now make little notebooks filled with your wedding photos, so you can take them to show people more easily). After you've found the right person for you, and made sure you've stuck to your budget, contact them to sort out dates. This should be done around the time you book your florist.
Honeymoon
Not everyone goes on a holiday after the wedding, but if you do make sure to plan it well in advance. This way you may be able to get better deals on flights, and you'll be more likely to secure a place in a location you really love. However, if you really fancy leaving it until the last minute, you can get heavy discounts on hotels as they try to fill up their rooms. Be sure to factor this honeymoon into your budget, a lot of couples forget and it can cause all sorts of hassle further on down the line.Insurance
A lot of brides forget about insurance, but it can just put your mind at rest. Depending on the extent of the insurance, you can cover just your bridal attire, or the entire event. You really need to look at what kind of cover you need in order to find the prices. As Especially For You is part of the British Bridal Retailers Association, we can offer free wedding insurance for bridal attire up to the cost of £1000. If you wanted to upgrade to cover areas like delayed travel if going abroad, or public liability, you can get it at a massive discount. If all this seems like too much stress and hard work, you can always go to the professionals. Wedding planners are often able to save you money in the long run, as they can get discounts off their usual suppliers, and are very efficient at what they do. It can take a massive weight off you shoulders if you know that someone else is helping you on your journey towards the big day. Make sure you do your research first before hiring a planner; read reviews, talk to local wedding suppliers and ask your friends what experiences they have had with wedding planners. This way you'll be able to decide whether using a wedding planner is the right thing for you. We always advise customers looking for a wedding planner to find somebody local, that way any suppliers they use won't be too far away for you to visit if you need to.
That is all for this week, hope you enjoyed reading and found our advice useful. Do you have any questions about timescales for ordering? Maybe you've just got married and have some advice for other brides. In any case, feel free to comment below. Happy New Year, and best wishes for 2014!
No comments :
Post a Comment